Chloe’s Closet: ‘Everything Crocheted’

Walk into ‘Chloe’s Closet’ and you’ll find everything crocheted. What started as a “stress reliever” for young Alyssa Chloe Florenville has now turned into a full-time job. From crop tops to swimsuits(and more), you can get it all at Chloe’s online store.

The teenager started crocheting during her last year at Castries Comprehensive Secondary School. With a desperate need to ease exam pressure, Chloe quickly turned to a ‘women’s app’ which offered tips on ways to relieve stress.

Chloe Florenville

“After watching a few tutorials, I told my uncle (whom I lived with at the time) that I would start off; he already had a pin at home, so I just got some yarn and started making squares. The following week, I was doing basic stitches and it just started from there,” Chloe, 18, said in an interview with YO!on Tuesday.

Friends encouraged the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) student to harness her talent until she was at her best. In no time, a stress reliever blossomed into an online store.

“I’d do it everywhere,” she said.

“I crocheted in class, on the bus, on the train, on the plane, on the beach, whilst I was walking—everywhere!” an enthusiastic Chloe added.

At times, the job, like most, became challenging.

“The most challenging thing about it is the fact that you’re making the items with thread and if when you’re almost done, you realize you made a mistake along the way, you have to pull the string and start all over again,” she said, adding that sometimes the mountain of work, too, can be overwhelming. The end results, however, make all the hardship worth it.

Chloe has participated in one competition (Global Entrepreneurship Week) and hopes to take part in more.

“We have the competition every year at SALCC and it’s a really big thing. I participated in my first year at the school,” she said, adding that the experience was somewhat daunting, as she was not as experienced as some of her competitors.

Chloe’s Closet

Still, she stood out, placing third in the end.

Chloe, who believes in being the best that she can be, shared that she constantly works on improving her crocheting technique.

“My mom sends me books and I still watch tutorials because with crocheting there’s always something to learn,” she said.

This year will mark two years since she has been crocheting.

Says Chloe: “I don’t even buy bathing suits anymore! If there’s an event, especially one that requires a swimsuit, I always wear my stuff and I don’t even wear it twice. I always feel like I should wear something new because I’m making it.”

The Balata resident has created unique wear for a number of big events like Verve’s ‘Vice’ and ‘Transcend’.

With Independence around the corner, she is as busy as ever, creating various looks for February 22.

According to Chloe, “I always tell people I don’t do it for the money.”

“What really keeps me going is the feedback I get from satisfied customers and the feeling I get when I see someone looking really good in something I made by hand. It’s a feeling I can never replace and one that instantly makes my day,” she added.